Sajjala accuses Vijayasai Reddy of political opportunism

metro india news  I  AMARAVATI

The political confrontation between former YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Vijayasai Reddy and the party leadership intensified on Sunday, with YSRCP state coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy launching a sharp counterattack and accusing the former Rajya Sabha member of attempting to gain political relevance by targeting Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Addressing the media at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Sajjala dismissed Vijayasai Reddy’s recent allegations against Jagan and the party as “unjustified” and politically motivated. He described Vijayasai as the latest in a series of new characters allegedly brought into the political narrative to damage Jagan’s image.

Sajjala claimed that Vijayasai had left the YSRCP nearly two years ago citing personal reasons and had, at the time, denied that his political position had been diminished or that Sajjala had any role in his decision to resign. He questioned why Vijayasai was now attacking the very leadership that, according to him, had repeatedly entrusted the former MP with important responsibilities.

“Jagan is the only leader in the YSRCP. Whether it is Vijayasai Reddy or I, we are all party workers,” Sajjala said, rejecting Vijayasai’s claim that he had become the party’s de facto No. 1. Sajjala pointed to Vijayasai’s long political career, including his association with the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government, membership of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, his Rajya Sabha terms and senior organisational responsibilities. If the party had deliberately sidelined him, Sajjala asked, why was he given a second Rajya Sabha term and made parliamentary party leader?

He also rejected Vijayasai’s description of the YSRCP as being controlled by a coterie, arguing that the party had always functioned through collective responsibility under Jagan’s leadership. Sajjala said that importing the term coterie from Congress politics and applying it to the YSRCP was politically dishonest.

The YSRCP leader particularly objected to Vijayasai’s allegations concerning religious conversions, calling them baseless and unfair. He said Jagan had consistently respected people of all faiths and accused Vijayasai of making provocative statements merely to attract media attention as he prepares to launch a new political party.

Sajjala also dismissed allegations that he had physically attacked Vijayasai at the YSRCP plenary in 2022, sarcastically suggesting that Vijayasai could approach the police and lodge a complaint under Section 307 if he believed the allegation was true.

Calling the controversy a diversion from substantive public issues, Sajjala urged YSRCP leaders and cadres not to fall into Vijayasai’s trap by responding to every statement. He maintained that Vijayasai’s attacks would neither diminish Jagan’s political standing nor damage the YSRCP’s organisational strength, asserting that the former MP’s political visibility itself had largely emerged from his association with Jagan and the YSRCP.